Brandon Carr wasn’t finished with his work with the Cowboys are in DFW. So the decision to take a pay cut to stay turned out to be an easy one.

“I feel great,” Carr said Tuesday during Reliant’s fifth annual Home Run Derby benefitting The Salvation Army. “I’m back with my teammates another year, back in the community. Those are the two things that matter most.”

Carr agreed last month to reduce his base salary from $9.1 million to $4.25 million plus a $1 million roster bonus. He can earn another $750,000 in incentives.

The cornerback signed a five-year, $50.1 million deal in 2012 and had been scheduled to count $13.8 million against the team’s salary cap this season.

Be the first to know.

No one covers what is happening in our community better than we do. And with a digital subscription, you'll never miss a local story.

It was his family, his foundation and his teammates that drew him back to the Cowboys. Carr vows to remain one of the most visible players in the community with his Carr Cares Foundation and other charitable appearances.

“We’ve been here for four years,” Carr said. “My kids absolutely love the community, love the city of Dallas. My teammates, of course. Those are my brothers. We spent four hard years, been through some things here and just the community. The foundation. I felt strongly I needed to stay here for my foundation, those schools that we have different programs in right now.”

The final year of Carr’s contract is voidable. So he likely becomes a free agent in 2017.

“I wouldn’t lie to you: It’s definitely motivating,” Carr said. “You kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel, but at the same time, I’ve got to stay focused on the main goal, and that’s with these goals. So I’m taking it one day at a time. I’m trying to get to that Super Bowl at the end of the year.”

The Cowboys passed on drafting cornerback Jalen Ramsey and instead took running back Ezekiel Elliott. That leaves Carr, Orlando Scandrick and Morris Claiborne as the Cowboys’ top three corners.

Scandrick missed all of last season with a knee injury, and

Carr, who turns 30 Thursday, has no interceptions the past two seasons. He has six interceptions in his four seasons in Dallas, with 39 passes defensed.

“We have chips on our shoulders,” Carr said of his fellow cornerbacks. “Unfinished business right now.”